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Alife Digest Number 109
Alife Digest, Number 109
Saturday, July 31st 1993
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~ Artificial Life Distribution List ~
~ ~
~ All submissions for distribution to: alife@cognet.ucla.edu ~
~ All list subscriber additions, deletions, or administrative details to: ~
~ alife-request@cognet.ucla.edu ~
~ All software, tech reports to Alife depository through ~
~ anonymous ftp at ftp.cognet.ucla.edu in ~ftp/pub/alife (128.97.50.19) ~
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~ List maintainers: Liane Gabora and Rob Collins ~
~ Artificial Life Research Group, UCLA ~
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Today's Topics:
Calendar of Alife-related Events
Glasgow Robot Games
ALIFE models in Business
Programming position on Swarm project at SFI
Nanotech & Computer Conference
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Date: Sat, 31 Jul 93 12:32:55 -0700
From: liane@CS.UCLA.EDU (Liane Gabora)
Subject: Calendar of Alife-related Events
**********************************************************************
Dynamically Interacting Robots Workshop Late Aug, 1993 v91
Molecular Nanotechnology Oct 14-16, 193 v109
Neural Networks and Telecommunications, Princeton, NJ Oct 18-20,1993 v100
Fluctuations and Order, Los Alamos, NM Sept 9-12, 1993 v102
Robot Games, Glasgow Scotland Sept 23-25, 1993 v109
Neural Information Processing Systems, Denver, CO Nov 29-Dec 2, 1993 v98
Third Conf on Evolutionary Programming, San Diego, CA Feb 24-25, 1994 v103
Cybernetics and Systems Research, Vienna April 5-8, 1994 v101,103
Intnl Conf Knowledge Rep and Reasoning, Bonn, Germany May 24-27, 1994 v101
IEEE Computational Intelligence, Lake Buena Vista FL Jun 26-Jul 2, 1994 v106
Alife IV, Cambridge MA July 6-8, 1994 v108
Simulation of Adaptive Behavior, Brighton, UK Aug 8-12, 1994 v101
Parallel Problem Solving in Nature, Jerusalem, Israel Oct 9-14, 1994 v102
Congress on Medical Informatics, Sao Paulo, Brazil Sept 9-14, 1995 v91
(Send announcements of other activities to alife@cognet.ucla.edu)
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Date: Fri, 23 Jul 93 09:14:37 -0400
From: "Mark W. Tilden" <mwtilden@math.uwaterloo.ca>
Glagow Robot Games - Where and When.
The next Robot Games based at least partially on BEAM rules will be held at
the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, Sept 23-25 (Thurs-Sat) 1993.
Visitors and participants welcome.
Further details and entrance form available from irg@turing.com.
Is all. See you there.
--
Mark W. Tilden. "Gomi no Sensei des" _ _ ________________________
MFCF, Un. of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. / \ / \ /________________________)
519/885-1211 <mwtilden@math.uwaterloo.ca> //\ \//\ \// ___o___________________
#include (standard.disclaimer); // \_/ \_/ (_______________________)
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Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1993 13:17:02 -0500
From: kdh1@postoffice.mail.cornell.edu (Kevin D. Hufford, Ph.D.)
Subject: ALIFE models in Business
I am interested in beginning research and investigation into
the application of ALIFE models and techniques to the areas
of Business. Specifically Business Operation, Management, and
Processes as well as Manufacturing, etc.
If anyone knows of any specific references for ALIFE application
to these areas please send them to
kdh1@cornell.edu
I will gladly compile a list of what I receive and post it back
to the list. If time permits I plan on reveiwing and annotating
the list of references received.
Thanks in advance!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kevin D. Hufford, Ph.D. kdh1@cornell.edu
Cornell Information Technologies phone: 254-6475
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Date: Tue, 27 Jul 93 22:38:58 MDT
From: cgl@santafe.edu (Chris G. Langton)
Subject: Programming position on Swarm project at SFI...
RESEARCH PROGRAMMER SOUGHT FOR SWARM PROJECT AT SANTA FE INSTITUTE.
We are looking for a someone experienced in C/C++, X-windows, object-oriented
programming style, and MIMD parallel computing. The job involves taking
over the lead programming position on the SWARM project: a general purpose
simulation system for investigating the behaviors of large collections of
semi-autonomous agents interacting in the context of a dynamic environment.
We will apply the SWARM simulation system to the study of collective
behavior in a diverse spectrum of systems, including molecular self-assembly,
social insects, economic systems, traffic flow, ecological and evolutionary
dynamics, and so forth. Responsibilities include taking over the development
and maintenance of the current working beta version of SWARM, consulting
with a select set of beta users as they get their simulations up and running
under SWARM, and the production and/or oversight of a parallel version of
SWARM. Candidates must be able to start as soon as possible.The position
pays from $35K depending on experience.
Please send vita, references, a 2 page statement of experience and research
interests, and any questions to:
Chris Langton
Santa Fe Institute
1660 Old Pecos Trail
Santa Fe, NM
87501
Email: cgl@santafe.edu
FAX: (505) 982-0565
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Date: Wed, 28 Jul 93 14:41:33 PDT
From: John Koza <koza@CS.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: Computer Nanotechnology
ANNOUNCEMENT:
Third Foresight Conference on
Molecular Nanotechnology:
Computer-Aided Design of Molecular Systems
October 14-16, 1993
Palo Alto, California
SUMMARY: The first nanotechnology conference specifically for the computer
community will be held in Palo Alto on October 14-16. It is designed for
those interested in what nanotechnology will do for the computer field
and in how to steer their careers toward nanotechnology today. The
meeting is also of interest to those in other fields who want to learn
more about molecular nanotechnology, that is, about thorough
three-dimensional structural control of materials and devices at the
molecular level. For further information, contact foresight@cup.portal.com.
Sponsor: Foresight Institute
Cosponsors: Stanford University Department of Materials Science and
Engineering, Molecular Graphics Society (USA), Institute for Molecular
Manufacturing
Support for nanotechnology has always been strong -- perhaps strongest --
within the computer community. The first nanotechnology course was
taught in a computer science department, the first conference was
sponsored by the same (along with Foresight Institute), the first Ph.D.
was granted by a computer-oriented department (MIT's Media Lab), and the
first text won the publishing industry's "best computer science book"
award.
A high proportion of those interested in nanotechnology are computer
professionals of one flavor or another, and for years they have asked
with increasing vigor "What can I do to further nanotechnology?" In
response to these demands, Foresight's third research conference is
especially designed to enable members of the computer community --
programmers, software engineers, hardware designers, and computer
scientists in general -- to move their knowledge base and, ideally, their
careers toward nanotechnology. All those with a computer background are
urged to attend.
The Third Foresight Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology: Computer-Aided
Design of Molecular Systems will be held in Palo Alto on October 14-16,
1993. The meeting includes speakers who have made or are making the
transition from computer science to nanotechnology.
According to conference co-chair Ralph Merkle, "The main emphasis of this
conference will be on computational approaches to the development of
molecular manufacturing, in particular the use of molecular modeling and
the development of molecular computer-aided design (CAD) tools. The
conference will be valuable both for people who work professionally in
computational chemistry and also for people who have a background in
computer science and are interested in finding out what they can do to
contribute to the development of molecular manufacturing.
"There will also be a tutorial the day before the conference, so that
people who have a background in computer science and wish to come up to
speed in computational chemistry can get an introduction to the
methodologies and techniques that are commonly used." The conference
will feature fifteen or more speakers giving presentations on topics
relevant to the pursuit of molecular control. We can only sketch a few
of these here:
Joel Orr, Autodesk Fellow, past president of the National Computer
Graphics Association, and president of the Virtual Worlds Society, will
address CAD industry professionals, potential nanotech designers, and
others interested in hearing about the special needs of nanotechnology
with respect to CAD. In the macro and micro worlds, computer-aided
design is optional: design can be done by hand. But in the nano world,
CAD is essential. He will discuss:
* Is standard CAD good enough for nanotech?
* What are the characteristics of the ideal system?
* Who is working on such systems?
* When will results be available?
* Nano a mano: What can be done by hand, without CAD?
Virtual Reality for Nanotechnology
Russell Taylor, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, will be speaking on a subject of particular interest to two groups
of people: (1) surface scientists who are interested in better interfaces
to their instruments, and (2) builders of virtual worlds, since the
system is an example of a virtual world applied to a scientific problem.
The system under discussion, the Nanomanipulator, is an immersive
virtual-environment interface to a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM).
A head-mounted display presents a scaled image of the surface being
scanned by the STM in front of the user while a force-feedback Argone-III
Remote Manipulator (ARM) allows the user to feel contours on the surface.
Computer-controlled instrumentation allows the user to make bias pulses
at specified locations, thus modifying the surface.
Ted Kaehler, a computer scientist at Apple Computer, points out that we do
not know how the first assembler will be built or what exact research is
needed to get there. A person who is not a professional chemist or
materials scientist, and yet wants to be involved in this effort, has to
think about how his/her skills match the problem. In this talk, entitled
"What Can a Programmer Do to Help Create Nanotechnology?", he discusses
three efforts he has been involved in.
The first is a program to discover voids inside large molecules. Programs
that search for the proper design of a large molecule need to know where
the empty spaces are. The second is a project to build the "relaxation
server" on the Internet. This server accepts proposed molecules (via
email messages) and computes the coordinates of the atoms. The results
are sent back by email. The third project is a "program" of a different
sort -- a meeting group. The "Assembler Multitude," a subgroup of the
local Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility chapter -- meets
every other Monday night in Palo Alto and covers a wide variety of
nanotechnology-related topics.
Charles Musgrave, a doctoral candidate at the California Institute of
Technology, will talk about ab initio calculations for mechanosynthetic
construction of diamondoid structures. Accurate transition state
barriers for a positionally controlled reaction are necessary to both the
design of the tool and the design of the synthetic process. If either of
these designs is not practical, then an alternate structure is required.
High level ab initio calculations are required to obtain accurate
transition state structures and thus reliable mechanochemical modeling.
J. Storrs Hall, Rutgers University, will be speaking on nanocomputing;
particularly the expected developments in computer architecture that make
use of reversibility to reduce heat dissipation. The techniques will be
critical for nanocomputers, but are on the verge of becoming useful in
VLSI, so the talk will be of interest to anyone in computer architecture
as well as those studying molecular computers per se.
Markus Krummenacker, an Institute for Molecular Manufacturing researcher,
will be presenting a "cavity stuffer" program which should enable the
design of macromolecules the size of proteins. These macromolecules
should then be easily synthesizable and should also have specifiable
interface surfaces so that they can self assemble.
Additional talks include:
* Introduction to the Design of Molecular Systems, by Eric Drexler, IMM
* Computational Nanotechnology, by Ralph Merkle, Xerox PARC
* Design of Macromolecular Objects, by Manfred Mutter, Institut de Chimie
Organique
* Molecular Modeling, by William Goddard, Caltech
* Crystal-Based Molecular CAD, by Geoff Leach, Royal Melbourne Institute
of Technology
* Visualization with Molecular Graphics, by Michael Pique, Scripps
Research Institute
* Modeling Diamond CVD with Density Functional Theory, by Warren Pickett, NRL
* Ab Initio Methods and Software, by Charles Bauschlicher, NASA Ames
* Atom Manipulation by Proximal Probes: Experiment and Theory, by Makoto
Sawamura, Aono Atomcraft Project
The first Nanotechnology Award (and accompanying cash prize) will be
presented at the meeting. Nomination information will be available from
Foresight Institute.
DEMONSTRATIONS
Leading vendors will demonstrate products useful in the pursuit of
molecular control, including molecular modeling software and hardware, and
proximal probe systems (e.g. STM).
CALL FOR PAPERS
Contributions on relevant topics are solicited for presentation in lecture
or poster format. Potential contributors are asked to submit an abstract
(200-400 words), including names, addresses, telephone and fax numbers of
the author(s), and an indication of whether oral or poster presentation
is preferred. Papers of both kinds will be reviewed for publication. In
choosing papers, priority will be given to (1) cogent descriptions of the
state of the art in techniques relevant to the construction of complex
molecular systems, (2) well-grounded proposals for interdisciplinary
efforts which, if funded and pursued, could substantially advance the
state of the art, and (3) reports of recent relevant research.
JOURNAL & BOOK PUBLICATION OF PROCEEDINGS
Proceedings of the conference will be refereed and published in a special
issue of the international journal Nanotechnology, and later in book form.
Abstracts due August 15, 1993
Notification of acceptance September 1, 1993
Manuscripts due October 14, 1993
Abstracts should be directed to the Foresight Institute, Box 61058, Palo
Alto, CA 94306, USA.
PRE-CONFERENCE TUTORIAL
A full-day tutorial on molecular modeling and computational chemistry will
be held on October 13. This tutorial is designed for computer scientists
and programmers interested in using their computer skills to become
active in the field of nanotechnology. The workshop will be taught by
Bill Goddard, Ralph Merkle, Eric Drexler and others. More detailed
information, including registration materials, will be sent to all
conference registrants.
SITE AND ACCOMMODATIONS
Conference sessions will be held at the Hyatt Rickeys Hotel in Palo Alto.
Accommodation arrangements should be made directly with the hotel.
Reservations should be made by September 29; when making reservations,
mention that you are attending the "Foresight Nanotechnology Conference"
to obtain the lower conference room rate. Deposits in the amount of the
first night's stay plus tax are required to guarantee reservations; these
are refundable up to 6 PM on the date of arrival. Room rate: $89, single
or double occupancy, plus 10% local tax.
Hyatt Rickeys
4219 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94306
(415) 493-8000 tel
(415) 424-0836 fax
TRANSPORTATION
The conference site is easily reached from San Francisco International
Airport and San Jose International Airport. Information on ground
transportation services will be mailed to registrants.
REGISTRATION FORM (please print and mail or fax)
Name:
Title: Dr. Prof. Ms. Mr.
Address:
Tel.:
Fax:
Email:
Position (programmer, professor, director, etc.):
Organizational affiliation (for your badge):
The registration fee includes the scientific program, Wednesday evening
reception, Thursday and Friday luncheons, and a copy of the proceedings
journal issue. (Student and one-day rates do not include proceedings.)
postmarked: by Sept. 1 after Sept. 1
Regular $350 $400
Academic, nonprofit,
governmental $275 $325
Student $100 $125
One day (specify day) $135 $160
Add $200 for Pre-conference Tutorial registration.
Total amount: $
Payment may be made by VISA, MasterCard, check, or international money
order valid in the U.S. Make checks payable to "Foresight Conferences";
checks and bank drafts must be in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank.
Refunds of registration fees can only be made on receipt of a written
request which must be postmarked no later than September 15, and are
subject to a $50 administrative fee. Credit card registrations may be
faxed; please do not send credit card information over the Internet.
Card #:
Exp. date:
Signature (required for credit card registrations):
Mail or fax registration to:
Foresight Institute
Box 61058, Palo Alto CA 94306 USA
Tel. 415-324-2490 Fax 415-324-2497
Internet: foresight@cup.portal.com
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End of ALife Digest
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